Middle East

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

   The Port of Virginia set a record Saturday for handling the heaviest containership on the U.S. East Coast when the MSC Chicago sailed through the 50-foot channel with export cargo at a draft of 49 feet, according to the port authority.    Export cargo often consists of grains, waste paper, machinery and other heavy products that typically weigh more than imports of consumer goods, making it difficult for ocean carriers to fully load vessels with full containers in many ports....

Monday, May 13, 2013

   United Arab Shipping Co. said an explosion Saturday morning in the engine room of its ship Asir, while en route from Suez to Jeddah, injured three officers.    The ship is adrift and the company has entered into towage contracts to move it to its destination in Jeddah.    Another UASC vessel, Jebel Ali, is providing standby assistance until the towing operations commence. Efforts are continuing to restore power to the ship, which has a capacity of 4101 TEUs, ac...

Monday, May 13, 2013

   Lloyd's List  reported China Shipping Group Chairman Li Shaode has confirmed the five 18,400-TEU ships his company has ordered will be deployed in a 10-year joint service with United Arab Shipping Co.    American Shipper was not able to confirm the report with UASC that it will order ships similar in size to those that China Shipping will acquire from Hyundai Heavy Industries. Strings operating between Asia and North Europe usually consist of 10 similar size ves...

Monday, May 13, 2013

   Agility has signed a five-year, $24.4 million contract with Kuwait National Petroleum Co. for transportation services.    In addition to moving oversized and traditional petroleum shipments over Agility’s air, land and sea networks, the company will provide origin logistics, customs clearance, freight forwarding and procurement services.      “The contract plays to many of our core strengths,” Tarek Sultan, Agility’s chairman and managing director, said in a st...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   The United States has requested consultations with Bahrain under the Labor Chapter of the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA).    The request follows a December 2012 report by the U.S. Labor Department that highlighted labor issues stemming from Bahrain’s response to civil unrest in early 2011 in the Persian Gulf country and recommended actions to address those issues.    “Ensuring that workers in Bahrain – and in other countries – can exercise their fundamental labor...

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

   Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) said it has begun upgrading its U.S.-flag fleet by replacing eight existing ships with eight newer and larger containerships at a cost of about $500 million.    MLL, the U.S.-flag arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said the new ships, which are being re-registered under the U.S. flag, will allow it to improve the quality of service between the U.S. East Coast and Middle East and Mediterranean Sea that it offers to the U.S. military, government and commercial...

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

   Agility saw a 46-percent, year-over-year jump in profit to KD 10.1 million ($35.6 million) and a 10-percent revenue growth to KD 352.6 million ($1.24 billion) during the first quarter.    Before-tax earnings were up 36 percent.    Revenue for the company’s global logistics arm ticked up 7 percent due to new customers like Shell, which recently signed a three-year, $80 million contract for freight forwarding services, and Egyptian appliance provider Universal. Officials c...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   National Air Cargo confirmed on its Website that a cargo aircraft it operates on behalf of the U.S. military was involved in an accident departing Bagram air base outside Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, resulting in the death of all seven crew members.     The company offers charter services for cargo shippers, including the U.S. military.    National Air Cargo said the plane was bound to Dubai when it crashed on takeoff. The plane was carrying vehicles and...

Monday, April 29, 2013

   Officials with the International Civil Aviation Organization are currently negotiating a new lease for their headquarters in Montreal, but another suitor has emerged.     Qatar has proposed that ICAO make Doha the permanent seat of the organization, starting in 2016.    Qatar’s offer, according to ICAO’s rules, must be considered by the organization’s 191 member states at the next assembly, which will take place on Sept. 24. Moving the organization to Qatar will req...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security said Computerlinks FZCO of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has agreed to pay a $2.8 million civil penalty following allegations that it committed three violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).    The violations are related to the transfer to Syria of devices designed to monitor and control Internet traffic. In addition to the civil penalty, which is the statutory maximum, the company has agreed to sub...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   The global terminal operator DP World on Wednesday said first quarter container volumes at its global facilities fell 7 percent year-on-year to 12.8 million TEUs.    The operator noted that due to divestments in its portfolio over the last year, the adjusted drop in volume was 3.5 percent. DP World said it divested stakes in terminals in the United Kingdom, Australia, Yemen, and Russia during that period.    The volume at terminals over which DP World has major...

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

   Maersk Line will discontinue its participation in two direct services, its West Med and Med Gulf strings, later this spring in favor of a feeder network to serve Mediterranean ports in Italy, France, and Spain.    Moshe Loberant, the trade manager for Maersk’s services between North America and the Black Sea and Mediterranean, said the carrier is “strengthening our backbone” between the United States and Mediterranean, Middle East and Indian subcontinent - the so-ca...

Thursday, April 18, 2013

   United Arab Shipping Co. (UASC) has named Lars Christiansen as chief trade officer and Uffe Østergaard as chief commercial officer.    “UASC is preparing for significant changes on the back of new capacity coming into service with a major program of new vessel acquisition”, said Jorn Hinge, UASC president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “We are repositioning our offering to the market, recapitalizing our business and optimizing our trades. We are structuring our execu...

Monday, April 15, 2013

   Bahri said it had a net profit in the three months ending March 31 of 144.5 million SAR-Saudi Arabian Riyal ($38.5 million), a decrease of 9.7 percent from the same period in 2012.    Saleh N. Al-Jasser, the company's chief executive officer, said the main reason for the decrease was lower average time charter equivalent (TCE) rates achieved in the spot market for crude oil VLCC (very large crude carrier) transportation.    The company said although net profit decre...

Monday, April 15, 2013

   Emirates SkyCargo is the first customer of the newly formed joint venture between Africa Flight Services and SA Airlink, and the carrier will operate in both Johannesburg and Captetown.    Malcolm Tonkin, a 21-year industry veteran, has been appointed general manager of the joint venture.      To support the joint venture, AFS has opened a 3,000-square-meter cargo facility at Johannesburg’s airport and a 2,340-square-foot development in Cape Town.    ...

Friday, April 12, 2013

   Liner carriers Evergreen and CMA CGM are starting a new, weekly service connecting Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and Red Sea.    Called the South Red Sea Service (SRS2) by Evergreen and REX 3 Service by CMA CGM, it will employ five 2,200-TEU ships, with Evergreen supplying three and CMA CGM two.    The first sailing is planned to depart from Tanjung Pelepas on May 2 and will have the following port rotation: Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo, Djibouti, Aden (Yemen),...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

   Non-vessel-operating common carrier Shipco Transport has opened offices in Pakistan, with its head location in Karachi and branch facilities in Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot.    The Pakistan operation will be headed by Asim Saeed and the staff of General Maritime (Pvt) Ltd., Shipco’s long-time agent in the country.    “While we have had a presence in Pakistan for years now, the establishment of our brand there now cements our commitment to expand service offerings ...

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced recent results of the agency's efforts to support exports of U.S. agricultural products, and they’re expected help increase exports of U.S. cattle, poultry products, and pears by over $85 million a year.    APHIS noted the opening of export markets to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia for U.S. day-old chicks and hatching eggs, increasing U.S. exports by an estimated $25 million a year. &nb...

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

   Turkish Airlines has opened a gateway in Houston, launching nonstop flights from the city to Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport.    Turkish now has major gateways in five U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Washington, and Chicago. Houston services will start with four frequencies a week and will expand to six flights per week on July 3.    "Houston is a key point in the international aviation," Turkish Airlines' Hamdi Topcu said in a statement. "We belie...

Monday, April 01, 2013

   The logistics company Agility said it had net profit of 34.3 million Kuwait dinar (KD) in 2012 ($119.9 million), 27 percent more than in 2011.    Revenue in 2012 was 1.4 billion KD, 7 percent more than in 2011.    In the fourth quarter, the company reported a net profit of 9.6 million KD, 179 percent more than in in the same 2011 period and revenue of 383.7 million KD, 9 percent more than in the fourth quarter of 2011.    “We have worked hard in the past few ye...

Thursday, March 28, 2013

   Etihad Cargo has named Swissport its first preferred handling partner under a two-year certification contract focusing on stations in Athens, Geneva, Larnaca, Nairobi, Seoul and Toronto.    According to a press release, the two parties will expand their agreement to other stations in the future.    To obtain the certification, Swissport passed benchmarks in training, regulatory compliance, safety, security and risk management, and information technology infrast...

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

   CMA CGM said it will open an inland port in Iraq's Abu Ghreib area, near Baghdad, in June.    The French liner carrier said it will manage and operate the terminal, giving customers the opportunity to clear their cargo through customs near Baghdad instead of Umm Qasr.    "This important upgrade shows the intention of the CMA CGM Group to facilitate its customers’ business in Iraq and to strengthen its roots in this flourishing market," the company sai...

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

   Saudi Airlines Cargo has taken delivery of the first of its two Boeing 747-8 freighters, which will enter service in May.    Saudia will add the second aircraft to its fleet by the middle of June. Both will fly on Asia-to-Europe routes.    “We are extremely excited to be taking delivery of our first two Boeing 747-8F aircraft,” Saudia Cargo’s Mohammed Linjawi said in a statement. “Not only is this one of the best aircraft in the world in terms of air freight performance,...

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

   The National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has sold its general cargo vessel, Saudi Diriyah , for scrap.    The company received SAR 30.25 million ($8 million) for the ship, generating a net gain of about SAR 19.5 million after deducting its book value and all expenses related to the sale. The financial impact of this transaction will be reflected in the first quarter 2013 results, Bahri said.    The liner company recently announced contracts to acquire six new ge...

Monday, March 25, 2013

   The liner carriers Hanjin Shipping, CMA CGM and Zim on Monday said they plan to raise rates in the Asia-Europe trade from April 15.    Hanjin will raise rates by $500 per 20-foot container and $1,000 per 40-foot container from all parts of Asia to all parts of Europe.    CMA CGM will raise rates by $550 per TEU from all parts of Asia to all parts of Europe. The line said it will also hike rates on services from Northern Europe to India and the Middle East. The increa...

Thursday, March 21, 2013

   Chinese liner carrier COSCO has announced a general rate increase of $475 per TEU for all shipments from Far East (excluding Japan) and the India and Pakistan region to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean (including Israel, Lebanon, Syria, North Africa and West Africa Region), effective April 15.    COSCO also said it will increase rates on April 15 for shipments from the Far East to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf by $300 per TEU and from the Far Eas...

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

   Members of the G6 alliance will use containerships of up to 10,000 TEUs on their AZX service between Asia and the United States, said the Port of Halifax.    Karen Oldfield, president and chief executive officer of the Port of Halifax, noted this spring will bring "three new container shipping lines calling with an Asian-Suez service – APL, MOL and Hyundai. With this addition, Halifax will have 10 of the top 15 global carriers providing service in our port.    "Big ships...

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

   DP World said it had a profit of $749 million in 2012, 10 percent more than in 2011, and that revenue, at $3.1 billion, was up 5 percent.    EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was $1.4 billion, up 8 percent.    The company said higher revenue was “driven by strong growth in the Middle East, Europe and Africa region representing our ability to improve revenue from both our container and non-container operations even with the tougher o...

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

   With an eye to recent political upheaval in Egypt, the latest edition of Drewry’s Container Insight Weekly contains a detailed analysis of what might happen to the container shipping industry if the Suez Canal closed.    “If the Suez Canal were to be suddenly closed tomorrow, container vessel schedules between Asia and Europe would be immediately adjusted to minimize delays by increasing round-trip speed to an average of approximately 22 knots. The disruption would, in most cases,...

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

   The National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) will add the Port of Jacksonville to its liner service schedule.    The carrier’s vessel Bahri Abha , which will be used to connect the United States with Saudi Arabia and Arabian Gulf ports, will make its first call at the Florida port on April 22.    The Bahri Abha is the first of six new, multi-purpose cargo vessels that Bahri will place into its liner service. The rotation of the service includes Baltimore (impor...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

   Members of the CKYH – Green Alliance of container liner companies (COSCON, “K” Line, Yang Ming, and Hanjin Shipping) said Tuesday they will restructure their current Asia-U.S. East Coast loops, effective mid-April.    CKYH will provide five loops (AWE1, AWE2, AWE3, AWE4, and AWE7) between Asia and the U.S. East Coast.    The carrier members said AWE7 will be newly launched and replace AWE6 which was suspended during the 2012 winter season.    ...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

   Liner carrier Zim will participate in three G6 services to U.S. East Coast.    Zim, which has been jointly operating the SCE service with the Grand Alliance between Asia and the U.S. East Coast, said Tuesday it will continue that relationship with the G6 Alliance. The change will be made in May, subject to U.S. Federal Maritime Commission approval.    The SCE is one of six services that the G6 will offer between Asia and the U.S. East Coast. The G6 is a co...

Monday, March 18, 2013

   The G6 Alliance, which announced earlier this year that it would expand beyond the Asia-Europe trade lane, has revealed port rotations for six services between East Asia and the U.S. East Coast, starting in May.    According to a press release issued by members of the G6, more than 50 ships with capacities between 4,500 and 8,000 TEUs will deployed on six strings covering about 30 ports in Asia, the U.S. and Canadian east coasts, Central America, Caribbean, Indian Su...

Friday, March 15, 2013

   The Federal Maritime Commission will allow the G6 Alliance of container liner shipping companies to operate between Asia and the U.S. East Coast.    The alliance currently operates on the Asia-Europe trade lane.    On Feb. 1, G6, which is a combination of members of the New World Alliance - APL, Hyundai, and MOL, and the Grand Alliance - Hapag-Lloyd, NYK, and OOCL, filed an agreement with the FMC that would allow them to charter and exchange space on each other's vessels...

Friday, March 15, 2013

   Evergreen Line will team up with Hanjin and Simatech to launch a new service linking the Indian Subcontinent, Persian Gulf and East Africa from late March.    Four 2,500-2,800 TEU vessels will be deployed on the joint "IDEA" service. The first sailing is planned from Mundra (Northwest India) on March 26.    The port rotation for the weekly service will be Mundra, Karachi, Jebel Ali, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, and Mundra.    Evergreen has operate...

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

   DHL has broken ground on an AED 100 million ($27 million) facility near Dubai intended to support ground operations in the Middle East and North Africa and allowing for increased service speed in the region.    The facility is expected to open during the fall of 2014.    The 185,844-square-foot development will include a 78,285-square-foot sorting and loading area and an office space spanning more than 46,000 square feet. DHL officials will install the new...

Thursday, March 07, 2013

   The United States and Iraq on Wednesday announced that the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the two countries, first negotiated in 2005, is likely to enter into force later this year.    The TIFA will provide a bilateral forum devoted to increasing trade and investment between the countries. The announcement follows the Iraq Council of Representatives’ recent ratification of the TIFA text and bilateral meetings in Baghdad this week.    Aft...

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

   The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative this week has decided to liberalize the designation of the existing Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs) in Egypt to make all production facilities, present and future, located in these zones potentially eligible to export goods duty-free to the United States.    Liberalizing the current designation will increase opportunities for trade, investment and production in the existing six QIZs, which include the Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Suez Ca...

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

   Soren Skou, chief executive officer of Maersk Line, outlined plans to improve service to customers on Monday during a keynote speech at the Journal of Commerce 's 13th annual TPM conference in Long Beach, Calif.    Skou said the company is taking steps to improve revenue and reduce costs, telling the audience he expects freight rates in the transpacific trade to be higher in 2013 than in 2012. “It probably says more about where the spot market was last year than it says anythi...

Friday, March 01, 2013

   The Japanese Shipowners’ Association (JSA) has added its voice to those asking the Suez Canal Authority(SCA) to rescind plans to raise tolls on May 1.    In a letter sent to the canal authority this week, JSA said it expressed “deep disappointment at the unilateral toll increase without any dialogue between the SCA and Canal users,” noting tolls had also been increased 3 percent in March 2012.    JSA said while it shared “sympathy to some extent that the Egyptian governm...

Monday, February 25, 2013

   After just one and a half months on an 11-week rotation, the G6 Alliance of liner shipping companies has increased the speed of its joint weekly EUM service between Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, decreasing roundtrip voyage time from 77 days to 70 days.    Transit times eastbound from the Mediterranean to South Korea and China have improved by about seven days, as vessels will no longer slow steam one week on the return leg between Hong Kong and Busan.    Am...

Friday, February 22, 2013

   APM Terminals said it has entered a final agreement with Petkim to create and operate for 28 years the Aegean Gateway Terminal (AGT), close to Izmir.    APMT said the new facility will be one of Turkey’s largest container and general cargo terminals. It will be entirely operated by APMT under a concession agreement with operations expected to start in summer 2015.    Construction of the terminal is being carried out by APMT’s partner in the deal, but under its ...

Monday, February 18, 2013

   Maersk Line said the Emma Maersk is being towed to a repair facility in Palermo, Italy, for further repairs.    In February the containership, the largest in Maersk's fleet, experienced an ingress of water in the engine room just after it commenced southbound transit through the Suez Canal en route to Asia. The captain decided to terminate the planned voyage and go alongside the nearby Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT).    The company said the exact cause of the incide...

Monday, February 18, 2013

   After nearly two months on a six-week rotation, ocean carrier Maersk Line has increased the speed of its weekly Middle East-to-East Africa Masiika Express service and dropped a call at Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.     Roundtrip voyage time on the service has decreased from 42 days to 35 days, and transit times westbound from the Middle East to East Africa on the Masiika Express have improved by about seven days, now taking 18 days from Dubai to Mombasa, Kenya.   &...

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

   Maersk Line will stop routing ships from East Asia to the U.S. East Coast ports of Savannah, Charleston and Miami through the Panama Canal in April, instead sending them through the Suez Canal.    The company's current Asia-East Coast TP7 string, which today uses the Panama Canal, will be combined with a Suez-routed Asia-Europe string, AE9, which will also stop in Tangiers on inbound voyages from Asia, and in Valencia on outbound voyages back to Asia.    William Woodhour,...

Thursday, February 07, 2013

   Liner carrier MOL said Thursday it will offer a new China–Middle East Express (CMX) service by joining an existing service operated by APL.    The service will operate with six vessels and MOL will provide one post-Panamax ship, the MOL Tyne .    MOL said joining the service will allow it to "enrich service coverage as well as frequency between China and Middle East."    MOL will start the service with the ship departing Ningbo on March 11. Rotation fo...

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

   The G6 Alliance of container carriers on Tuesday confirmed rumored plans to expand into the the trade between Asia and the U.S. East Coast this spring.    The G6 is a combination of six container carriers - the so-called Grand Alliance of NYK, Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL, and the New World Alliance of APL, Hyundai, and MOL.    G6 said it will deploy more than 50 ships in the trade that will call at 30 ports in Asia, the North American east coast, Central America, the Carib...

Monday, February 04, 2013

   The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the principal international trade association for shipowners, is voicing concern over plans by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to hike tolls on May 1.    The chamber said "for all but the smallest ships, the Suez Canal toll increases range from about 3 percent to 5 percent according to tonnage and ship type. These follow across the board increases of 3 percent, which were implemented in March last year despite industry protests." &nb...

Monday, February 04, 2013

Emma Maersk    The Emma Maersk , until recently the largest containership in the world, has been taken out of service after its engine room flooded and the vessel lost power.    The ship was transiting the Suez Canal Friday on a voyage from Europe to Asia when the incident occurred.    It is currently discharging cargo at the Suez Canal Container Terminal and cargo will be placed on other Maersk ships for transport to Asia. The ship was carrying 13,537 TEUs, 6,425 TEUs...

Friday, February 01, 2013

   Egyptian ports have been affected this week by violent protests aimed at the government.    A note from the port operator DP World said the Port of Sokhna, on the Red Sea, has been shuttered due to the protests.    “We expect that there may be some disruption to operations activities, which are outside our control and may affect vessel and land side operations,” the operator said Thursday. “Hence we wish to inform you in advance that this threat is likely to be implemente...

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

   Port of Everett’s Chief Financial Officer Karen Clements will retire in September.    Clements, who holds the No. 3 spot at the Washington state port, is credited with leading the port through 15 consecutive years of clean audits. As CFO, she is responsible for the port’s $56 million-plus capital and operating budgets, its investment portfolios, risk management, bond issuance, and overseeing information technology.    Before joining the port, Clements worked 12 years at t...

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

   The terminal operator DP World said its terminals handled 56.1 million TEUs in 2012, a 2.4 percent increase over 2011.    DP World operates more than 60 terminals across six continents, with container handling generating about 80 percent of its revenue.  In addition, the company currently has 11 new developments and major expansions underway in nine countries.    At "consolidated terminals," the terminals over which DP World has control as d...

Friday, January 25, 2013

   Ram Menen, divisional senior vice president of cargo at Emirates Airline, has decided to leave after 40 years in the business.    In an email to close associates, he wrote that he's taking early retirement from his 27-year Emirates SkyCargo career to spend more time with family and friends and continue to travel the world.    Menen will officially retire in June, leaving behind a cargo division he wrote “has become the largest airline cargo operator in the world.” He add...

Thursday, January 24, 2013

   The liner carrier Hapag-Lloyd said this week it plans to raise rates on refrigerated containers out of Mexico next month.    The increases, which take effect Feb. 23, impact the trades from Mexico to North America, Central America, the east and west coasts of South America, Caribbean, Far East, the Middle East, and India.    The rate hike to the Americas destinations from Mexico is $320 per reefer container. To Asia and the Middle East, it’s $750 per container....

Monday, January 21, 2013

   Hapag-Lloyd said it would postpone to March 1 a general rate increase on exports of dry commodities from North America to East Asia, Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East.     The German liner carrier said it originally planned to hike rates on Jan. 15, then postponed the increase to Feb. 15, and now plans the increase for March 1. The amount of the increase will be $160 per 20 foot container and $200 per 40 foot container. - Chris Dupin

Thursday, January 17, 2013

   The G6 Alliance announced Thursday that it will maintain the current five-loop product structure for its Asia-North Europe service in 2013 and not replace a loop suspended this fall.    “We anticipate the current supply and demand balance will continue and we will not be reinstating the Loop 3 Asia-Europe service,” members of the   alliance said in a joint statement. The Loop 3 service was suspended in October 2012 as part of the alliance’s "winter program." It said other...

Monday, January 14, 2013

   The Italy-based classification society RINA Group has been chosen as the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) partner to support the development of Tasneef, a new classification society for the United Arab Emirates.    Tasneef has been established in Abu Dhabi and plans to expand with future worldwide offices. Working in partnership with RINA, the goal is to develop Tasneef as an international classification society capable of meeting the technical and class...

Friday, January 11, 2013

   Sources have confirmed to American Shipper reports that the so-called "G6 Alliance" will extend its cooperation beyond the Asia-to-Europe trades to the Asia-to-East Coast of the United States.    Several publications - Alphaliner, DynaLiners, American Journal of Transportation , PR News Service and the Hong Kong Shipping Gazette - have all had stories in recent days about the expansion.    None of the six lines would confirm the reports on the record or give fur...

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

   International Container Terminal Service, Inc. (ICTSI) said Wednesday it has pulled out of a terminal it operates in Tartous, Syria, due to the ongoing war in the Middle East nation.    Tartous (also spelled Tartus), is Syria’s second biggest port. ICTSI has been operating the terminal through its Tartous International Container Terminal (TICT) subsidiary since 2007.    The operator said its decision to pull out of Syria is based not only on the spiraling violence i...

Monday, December 31, 2012

   U.S. Customs officers seized almost 214 pounds of khat on Dec. 21 shipped as air freight from Doha, Qatar.    The drug was listed on the airline's cargo manifest as "wood coffee tables" and had a street value of about $30,000, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.    Khat is a green, leafy plant typically grown in the Arabian Peninsula and chewed for its amphetamine-like effect. It contains cathine and cathinone, which are considered controlled substances in the U...